Life in Politics: Speaker and Labour MP Betty Boothroyd

A former Speaker looking back on her political career said the sexism she initially endured was from other women, mainly at selection hearings.

Betty Boothroyd, who went on to become Labour MP for West Bromwich West and Speaker, admitted she would not have made a good minister.

She recalled a happy childhood where she was "somewhat indulged" in the family home, as she spoke to Jo Coburn for the Daily Politics' A Life in Politics series.

Baroness Boothroyd recalled unsuccessfully contesting several elections, including two by-elections, and wondered if she would enter the Guinness Book of Records as the "girl most unlikely to succeed".

Their interview covers her time in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Luton and the Black Country, her role as deputy Speaker before taking on the top job, standing down in 2000, and meeting Nelson Mandela.

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